UFC 333 preview, main card predictions | Volkanovski vs. Evloev
Two championship title fights for the price of one (subscription to Paramount+).
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns with its latest numbered event, UFC 333, featuring the featherweight title fight between current 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski and undefeated division contender Movsar Evloev. In the UFC 333 co-main event, Petr Yan defends his bantamweight strap opposite former 135-pound titleholder Merab Dvalishvili.
Additional main card matchups include the flyweight fracas pitting Lone’er Kavanagh against Ramazan Temirov, while Alexander Volkov and Rizvan Kuniev hook ‘em up at 265 pounds. In addition, Aaron Pico collides with Losene Keita in featherweight action. The fisticuffs get underway this Sat. afternoon (Oct. 24, 2026) at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
For a closer look at the UFC 333 odds and latest betting lines click here.
145 lbs.: UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander ’The Great’ Volkanovski (28-4) vs. Movsar Evloev (20-0)
A lot of the scuttlebutt surrounding Alex Volkanovski involves his age (38) and whether or not “The Great” should retire from competition. I don’t really understand that argument when you look at his body of work. Volkanovski has only lost three times in 18 fights for UFC and two of those losses came against Islam Makhachev, a two-division champion who is currently wearing the 170-pound crown. The Aussie nearly beat Makhachev at UFC 284 then took their UFC 294 rematch on just 11 days’ notice. As for his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria, that became far more forgivable when “El Matador” did the same thing to the granite-chinned Max Holloway.
Point being, there’s really no good case to be made against Volkanovski’s skill set, which looked as refined as ever in back-to-back victories over Diego Lopes — two bouts that returned “Fight of the Night” bonuses. “The Great” lands nearly six significant strikes per minute with 57-percent accuracy, offensive stats that put him at the very top of his class. He’s also an underrated offensive wrestler with great scrambling ability, which may be a byproduct of his compact, 5’6” frame. He can be taken down, as we saw against Lopes and Makhachev — and even Brian Ortega — so I would expect to see him on the canvas in this fight, as well.
“Trying to outgrapple me for 25 minutes, I can’t see it,” Volkanovski told MMA Junkie. “I believe that the only chance that any of these guys have is for them to catch me. If he thinks he can beat me by decision or he thinks he can outgrapple me, I’m sure he’s gonna try, we’ll see. I’m just very confident in my skills and the fighter I still am. I think I can do it in pretty wild fashion. I believe I can get a finish. I believe I can do it inside five. A lot of people are going to go say after this fight, ‘Is that the best Volk we’ve ever seen?’ I actually do believe that.”
Movsar Evloev spent the last two years begging for a title shot, stuck in purgatory like Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad before him. They eventually got theirs and now Evloev has his, though I doubt anyone was standing at the matchmakers’ gates with pitchforks and torches. The undefeated Russian has 10 fights under the UFC banner and all 10 went to the judges’ scorecards, which includes his split against Nik Lentz and his majority nod over Lerone Murphy. Anyone who thinks winning is the only thing that matters is hopelessly naive because the promotion is in the business of selling tickets and making money, which you can’t do when fans are bored.
Or maybe we have it all wrong?
“To show a good fight is important,” Evloev told MMA Fighting. “Even if you have no finishes, you can show a good fight, exciting fight. You can show the beauty of wrestling and there is not just fans of MMA who just wait for blood or something crazy. There are so many good fans who know MMA, and they understand, and maybe because of them I’m still in the UFC.”
I’m sure that’s the reason.
I don’t think there is any big mystery when it comes to this fight. Evloev scores nearly five takedowns per fight and will no doubt try to do the same here. There have been cases where he was outwrestled — Aljamain Sterling and Mike Grundy come to mind — but Evloev still managed to win a unanimous decision, suggesting there’s more to the Russian than just takedowns and dry humping. The problem is that neither Sterling nor Grundy have the fight IQ of Volkanovski, who has one of the most impressive resumes of any champion. The Aussie has survived a gauntlet of killers across the last 10 years in UFC and has seen just about everything there is to offer inside the cage. That includes the predictable attack of Evloev, who will land his share of takedowns and little else.
Prediction: Volkanovski def. Evloev by decision
135 lbs.: UFC Bantamweight Champion Petr ‘No Mercy’ Yan (20-5) vs. Merab ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili (21-5)
Petr Yan was very close to becoming UFC’s forgotten champion, a piece of MMA trivia for later generations, thanks to a dreadful run from 2021-23 that saw Yan lose four of five — and his bantamweight title. Part of that ugly streak included a UFC Las Vegas loss to Merab Dvalishvili, a listless performance that had a lot of fans (and pundits) wondering if Yan even wanted to be a fighter. I’m not sure what changed after that performance but the Russian went on an absolute tear, winning his next four fights and recapturing the crown from Dvalishvili at UFC 323 last December. That said, opponent Deiveson Figueiredo has lost five of six and has no business at bantamweight, while Marcus McGhee is not ranked in the Top 15. Those are two fighters Yan should have finished. In addition, Yan underwent a major, nine-hour lumbar and lumbosacral spine surgery back in January, which sidelined him for the first half of 2026. I’m not a doctor but that sounds like a pretty serious procedure to have right before one of the hardest fights of his career.
“The biggest difference between fights was that I could punch him, and he himself, in his interviews, admitted he was broken in the second round. So, you can state it for a fact that I made him humble,” Yan told Ariel Helwani. “In general, we have a lot of information about each other. We know what to expect from each other after fighting two times. I know what to expect from him this time, and I know how to counter it and believe I can make him fight the way I want: control where the fight goes and defeat him again. If he wants to use [his fighting frequency] as an excuse or his fans want to use it as an excuse, soon we’re going to find out. We have a date, less than a week, so we’re going to find out who is a better man.”
Merab Dvalishvili went seven years and 14 UFC fights without a defeat, good enough for No. 4 in the promotion’s record book for all-time win streak. Along the way he set a record for most takedowns in UFC history at 119, making him the only fighter to pass 100 takedowns, and holds multiple bantamweight marks including control time (1:38:10), total strikes landed (2672), and decision wins (11). His two biggest weapons are his pressure and never-ending cardio, though neither would do him any good without his granite chin. I think the problem Dvalishvili faced in his UFC 323 loss was his own ego; which to be fair, is understandable. How do you win 14 straight fights and not think you’re god’s gift to combat sports? I think when Yan refused to go quietly, “The Machine” forgot his plan B — or perhaps forgot he needed one at all. I don’t expect him to make the same mistake in their UFC 333 rubber match, which could look more like UFC Las Vegas than UFC 323.
“It’s such a fascinating one to break down because their two fights were so wildly different in how they played out,” UFC analyst Laura Sanko told MMA Junkie. “Can Merab get even close to replicating what their first fight looked like? I don’t think it will ever look like that again. But their second fight was relatively close. I think it was like, ‘Wow, Petr Yan is doing so differently than before you’re like, ‘It was a masterclass.’ It was an incredible performance, and he was nearly perfect, but it was still a close fight. I think [Merab wins] just by a hair [in the trilogy]. I think Merab will be able to make the adjustments to the adjustments and be able to get the better of Yan. He’s got to protect his body, though, man.”
You can make a case for both fighters because they each have a victory over the other. I don’t think Yan figured out the formula to beat Dvalishvili, I just think “The Machine” had a bad night at the office and forgot that he’s human and can be defeated when he takes his foot off the gas pedal. I don’t expect a blowout but I also don’t think it will be particularly close, as Dvalishvili takes his share of abuse and answers with a dominant grappling game, akin to the one at UFC Las Vegas that produced double-digit takedowns.
Prediction: Dvalishvili def. Yan by decision
125 lbs.: Lone’er Kavanagh (10-2) vs. Ramazan ‘Temurlan’ Temirov (20-3)
Lone’er Kavanagh appeared to be on his way to doing great things in the flyweight division after a breakout performance on Dana White’s “Contender Series” in late 2024. Yes, he got knocked out by Charles Johnson at UFC Shanghai in summer 2025, but “InnerG” also starched 125-pound champion Joshua Van, so it was a forgivable loss. Especially after watching Kavanagh handle former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico City back in February. Then came a submission loss to Brandon Royval at UFC 329 last July and for me, the bloom is off the rose. The good news is, Kavanagh is still just 27 and has a few more years to refine his game and get back into title contention. The bad news is, he’s fighting an absolute killer in Ramazonbek Temirov.
“I feel like [beating Temirov] puts me back in the top five,” Kavanagh said at the UFC 333 media day. “It’s a respectable opponent, and a win in spectacular fashion here puts me straight back up to the top. I did watch his performance [against Steve Erceg]. It was a very good performance, and in terms of him being on my radar, anyone in the circuit is on my radar. He wants to climb up the rankings, and I’m the next step. I’m definitely impressed. To get 13 first-round finishes is definitely impressive, and I agree with him. I think it’ll be a good fight for the fans to watch. He’s a powerful puncher. He likes to come forward. He likes to throw big shots.”
Big shots sent Steve Erceg to the shadow realm at UFC Abu Dhabi back in July, his second knockout in three trips to the Octagon after a pair of first-round finishes in RIZIN. The only flyweight to make it to the judges’ scorecards over the last five years is the aforementioned Johnson, who would probably be fighting for a title himself if he could find any sort of consistency in his performances. Temirov scored most of his victories on the International circuit against winless bums, like the 0-1 Sultonmurod Shodavlatov and the 0-2 Saykhan Elmurzaev, just to name a few. I would probably come down on him a lot harder for that resume had he not already proven himself against UFC competition — while also bagging two “Performance of the Night” bonuses — and he appears to be getting better each time out. The moneyline is basically a pick ‘em at -112/-108 and that surprises me when you consider the trajectory of both fighters.
“I’m so happy that I could get the fight that I was asking for, and hopefully I’m going to show a good fight and good skills in this fight,” Temirov said at the UFC 333 media day. “After his last fight, [Kavanagh] did a good performance and he’s standing in the top rankings above me so, that’s why I chose him so we can both show the striking skills in our fight, and hopefully it’s going to be good. Inshallah, like my last fight, I’ll try to perform at my best and of course you’re going to see in this fight the rest so, I’m not going to talk a lot. I’ll just show you guys a beautiful show and a beautiful fight.”
Outside of his “Contender Series” win, Kavanagh has yet to score a knockout in UFC and only has four in his career. The idea that he’s going to stand and bang with a power puncher boasting 12 knockouts — 10 within the opening frame — seems silly to me. It also doesn’t bode well for Kavanagh that Erceg and Johnson were both unsuccessful in getting Temirov to the floor because that leaves him with very few options outside of striking. Maybe I’m putting too much stock into what Temirov has done thus far in his career, or perhaps I’m not giving the Englishman the credit he deserves — perhaps a little bit of both? I just think “Temurlan” makes this look easy and puts himself atop a very short list of 125 -pound title contenders.
Prediction: Temirov def. Kavanagh by knockout
265 lbs.: Alexander ‘Drago’ Volkov (40-11) vs. Rizvan Kuniev (14-3-1)
Alexander Volkov will log his 20th fight for the promotion this weekend in Abu Dhabi and despite a decade of UFC experience, “Drago” is forced to sneak into press conferences and ask Dana White for advice on how to get a title shot. The fact that White didn’t even recognize him should tell you a lot about the Russian’s chances; though to be fair, Volkov shoulders most of the blame. Every time he gets close to a title shot, Volkov suffers a loss that sets him back several fights. In addition, he’s already registered losses to Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall, the top two heavyweights in the division. I was expecting Volkov to draw Josh Hokit instead of Rizvan Kuniev but the promotion has fast-tracked Hokit to the division title. That probably keeps “Drago” at bay for awhile, as beating Kuniev — who is ranked in the heavyweight Top 5 — is probably not the name that has fans screaming “title shot,” especially with Alex Pereira getting a chance to bounce back against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335.
“I will try to beat him up, I will try to knock him out, but if you’re watching me for 51 more fights, what can I do that is new?” Volkov told UFC.com. “People like finishes, but the difference between winning and losing in terms of finishing is (so small). If I can find this difference, of course I will knock him out. I have enough power. There is the reason I need to remind everyone, and the reason is to take the belt. So, we change the question to ‘What do I need to do to take the belt?’ Maybe finish this guy, be ‘entertaining’ like everyone is saying about the sport now. When they speak about entertainment, when they speak about professional wrestling, I understand this. I was very entertained when I was a kid watching professional wrestling, and I also was at WrestleMania last year. Entertainment of fights is in that it’s unpredictable. When it’s more unpredictable, it’s more entertaining. People like drama in their fights, something changes, like you’re reading a very interesting story that turns in a crazy way you didn’t expect. In the best way, I want to provide entertainment.”
Rizvan Kuniev had a cup of coffee in PFL before getting a technical knockout victory on Dana White’s “Contender Series” in summer 2024 — the second time Kuniev fought (and won) on the Apex proving ground. The second time was the charm as White gifted the 34-year-old Russian a UFC contract which to date, has returned a 2-1 record with one finish. Apparently that’s all you need to be ranked in the Top 5 of the heavyweight division. Kuniev is coming off a finish over Tyrell Fortune at UFC Abu Dhabi last July and his two other performances returned a unanimous decision win over the since-departed Jailton Almeida and a split decision loss to wrestling powerhouse Curtis Blaydes. Kuniev is one of those rare Dagestani fighters who doesn’t rely on wrestling to control the fight and has yet to land a single takedown in his three UFC fights — though he stands as one of the few heavyweights to successfully keep Almeida from taking him down after eight attempts at UFC Vegas 113. Despite standing 6’4” with a 76” reach, Kuniev will still be at a significant disadvantage in both departments.
“I can dominate him everywhere,” Kuniev told reporters during the UFC 333 media day. “I can dominate him in the grappling, I can dominate him in the standup. There’s really nothing that I cannot do against him. I’m going to go out there, I’m going to dictate the pace, I’m going to say where the fight is going to go. I’m not afraid of his size, I’m not afraid of his reach, I’m not afraid of any of those things. I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to go out there and fight against a living legend like he is. He’s been around for a really long time, he’s still fighting, he’s still showing the results. He’s probably at the prime of his career, at the prime of his performances, and now I get to go out there and trade places with him, take away his No. 2 spot, take away his position to fight for the belt.”
Volkov is not a perfect fighter but he’s got over 50 fights worth of experience. More importantly, he’s shared the cage with the absolute best heavyweights in the world whereas Kuniev has fought … nobody special. In fact, the one true test he faced in the form of Curtis Blaydes returned a loss. Volkov presents a much different style and probably gives Kuniev more ways to win, I’m just not sure how Kuniev plans to deal with the reach and cage generalship from Volkov. “Drago” insists all the success Kuniev enjoyed earlier in his career was a byproduct of steroid use (Kuniev popped under the PFL banner) and his performance this weekend in Abu Dhabi will go a long way in proving (or refuting) that claim.
Prediction: Volkov def. Kuniev by decision
145 lbs.: Aaron Pico (14-5) vs. Losene ‘Black Panther’ Keita (17-2)
Aaron Pico is probably the best fighter to come out of the PFL/Bellator MMA implosion because he’s still in his athletic prime and brings a top-shelf wrestling game to the featherweight division. He didn’t get off to the best start, falling to Lerone Murphy in his Octagon debut at UFC 319 in summer 2025, but Murphy was (and still is) ranked among the best 145-pound fighters in the world. More importantly, Pico managed to rebound with a dominant performance against fellow Bellator veteran Patricio Freire. Unlike a lot of wrestlers, Pico is not content to dump and hump his way to victory and has 11 finishes in 14 wins, nine of them by way of knockout. Whether or not that trend continues this weekend in Abu Dhabi may depend on his ability to duck and cover against a dangerous striker with a penchant for finishes of his own.
“I just roll with the punches,” Pico told MMA Fighting. “What am I ranked in the UFC? No. 12 or something like that? I’m not even sure. All I’m focused on is being a champion. That’s what I’m focused on. So whoever I have to fight. A lot of guys are like, ‘I need to protect this, I need to fight a guy that’s above me.’ I have a different approach. If I’m not champion, then I just need to fight whoever. Even when you are champion, you’re fighting the best guys in the world. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m focused on getting to the top. I’m taking this as a new challenge. Every fight is dangerous. I don’t care if you’re fighting a guy off the street that has no experience. There’s always a puncher’s chance. I take every fight serious. I’ve lost before, so I know how crucial any one bad decision in the cage can cost you. We just have to be ready for everybody, and this is just another challenge.”
Losene Keita is also a highly-regarded featherweight who made a name for himself in another promotion, running the table at Oktagon MMA in Europe before crossing over to UFC. Also like Pico, Keita came up short in his UFC debut, dropping a split decision loss to Nathaniel Wood at UFC London before bouncing back to annihilate Muhammadjon Naimov at UFC Paris back in September. The downside is that Keita is coming into this fight on short notice, replacing Arnold Allen, though I’m not sure it’s going to take a tremendous toll on the “Black Panther,” who is just 28 years old and in peak physical form. The bigger issue will be Keita’s ability to handle a wrestler like Pico, who will show him an offense he never saw in Oktagon MMA (or anywhere else). It’s also worth pointing out that Wood didn’t need any wrestling to defeat Keita at UFC London so the knockout is not a foregone conclusion, though Pico will need to be weary of it considering he’s been sat in four of five losses.
“I’m one of the generation that started late with MMA,” Keita told MMA Junkie. “When I started MMA, he was one of the guys I was watching. Because I was watching different promotions, I didn’t know much about the UFC, Bellator. I actually wanted to fight in Bellator. For me, it was the greatest organization. I didn’t know much about the organization because I just started MMA. Pico was one of the guys they were always promoting. He had his highlights, his crazy highlights. I’m like, ‘Whoa, that guy is crazy.’ Now I’m facing him. If there is something I’m really good at, it’s standup – not only in the cage, but in life Every time some time somebody get me down, I’ll always stand up in life and in cage. It’s one of my strongest points. People, don’t forget: It’s going to be my 30th professional fight right now. Nobody has taken me down and submitted me and beat me in an MMA fight and did it by standing. Zero times. Maybe I’ve gotten taken down sometimes, but I don’t think too much. I always stand up. I always deliver.”
It’s easier to stand and deliver when your competition is Soufiene Oudina (11-11) and Tayron Agtereek Chavarro (2-4). I think Keita has the speed and the power to strike with anyone in the featherweight division; but again, where was that power against Wood? Assuming Pico doesn’t do something dumb, which is certainly within the realm of possibility, I expect him to have his way with Keita from bell-to-bell. I think “Black Panther” is too strong to stay grounded for extended periods, but I don’t seem him spending much time on his feet, either.